Microsoft Office Q&A: General Discussion (Word, Excel, PowerPoint...)

Douglas Garcia52 said:That’s exactly why I’m asking—I don't know much about this, and I really appreciate any help you can give me.
I haven't actually had any reason to use these types of programs until now, so I haven't touched them—not that I plan on doing any actual work within them, mind you. I'm just sending my request via email, which is why I'm trying to figure out which format I'll need just to be able to read what they send back.

Do you happen to know why I might not be able to save things as a .doc?

The Portable Document Format (PDF) is actually quite different from Word. The whole point of its design was to ensure it stays portable, meaning the content shouldn't change or break regardless of which specific software was used to create it. You typically view them using some kind of viewer—like Adobe Reader or Foxit Reader...

I suppose it’s fair to say that it has become the modern standard for exchanging documents like the one you're trying to send.

Maybe you could just download CutePDF, install it, and it should show up right there in your list of printers. From inside Word, you just "print" to it (which actually just generates a PDF file); when the prompt pops up, you just give the file a name, and voilà—you've got your PDF.

Nicholas King said:Look, let's get one thing straight: PDF has absolutely nothing to do with Word. It wasn't even built that way. The whole point of the format was to be its own thing, you know? Just existing on its own terms. PDF. That's all anyone ever talks about anymore. Why does everything have to be a PDF? You try to open a simple document and suddenly you need half a dozen different readers just to see what's on the page. It’s a headache. Honestly, why can't we just go back to when things actually worked without all this extra bloat? Just a thought.I mean, yeah... you want to make sure the content doesn't break just because someone's running different software, right? You save it as a PDF so people can actually open it without a headache. Just pop it into Adobe Reader or Foxit Reader and call it a day. Simple as that.

I mean, honestly? It’s pretty much the gold standard now for swapping files like the one you just sent over. Just how things are done.

Just grab it. Seriously. CutePDFJust install it, alright? It’ll show up right there in your printer list. Then, from within Word, you just hit "print"—but instead of sending it to a physical machine, you're basically just dumping it into a PDF file. When the prompt pops up asking what you want to call it, just type in a name, and boom, there's your PDF. Easy enough, right?

Wait, I didn't catch that... were you actually suggesting I switch over to PDF? My bad. I've got Foxit Reader sitting on my hard drive right now—can I just use that to convert the thing into a PDF or what?

Douglas Garcia52 said:Oh, I didn't quite catch that—were you suggesting I should use PDF format? I have Foxit Reader installed, so... can I just use that to convert it into a PDF?

No. Reader is strictly a "reader." If you want something that actually works, CutePDF is free software and it does its job quite decently enough.

I don't personally use 2010, but I've heard people say it has built-in PDF output—you might want to check that out first.

Nicholas King said:Nah. Reader is just a "reader." CutePDF is free software and honestly, it gets the job done well enough.

I don't use 2010, but people say it has built-in PDF output, so maybe check that out first.

hehehe I already installed this CutePDF👍

Douglas Garcia52 said:aha, found it! if I save it as a Word 97-2003 (.doc)

I'm guessing a newer version like Word 2007 or 2010 can open that document, right? Or is it just limited to those older 97 and 2003 versions?
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The thing is, whenever I try to save it that way, it just keeps defaulting back to .docx format

Well, you're making a solid guess 😬

The only real downside to doing it that way is that you lose out on some of those specific Word or Excel features that really need the .docx or .xlsx formats—though, honestly, I don't think you're even using those anyway. Still, a PDF is definitely the fool-proof way to go.

As for the person below, I think you might have messed something up slightly 🙂

So, I took Nicholas King's advice and finally got CutePDF installed

Here’s what happens when I try to "print" everything to a PDF

Gonna try installing Office 2007 tonight and see if that actually does anything

I managed to knock out both the PDF and the .doc using Word 2007 without any drama

I'll send them over in both formats 😁

thanks for the hand 👍

I personally stick with PrimoPDF. It functions just like a virtual printer, it’s free, and so far, it hasn't given me any trouble regardless of which programs or Office suites I'm running...

Nicholas King makes a fair point—just browse through Amazon or similar sites; you can find plenty of books that used to be at the local newsstand $3.25 that cover the essentials of Microsoft Office and Windows. They'll get you ready to pass an IT certification exam and officially add "computer literate" to your professional resume. Once you know that, you won't have to ask about the difference between docx and PDF formats ever again.

edit: btw—thanks, Q. It’s nice to encounter someone who doesn't lose their cool when receiving a little feedback. However, you have to realize we all assumed you were presenting yourself as tech-savvy on your Resume 🙂 especially since you're participating in an Office discussion thread where everyone is quite proficient 😉

Go ahead and keep the criticism coming, I don't really care 😉

At least I picked up something useful today 👍
As for my Resume, I'm just emailing it since I'm based out in Phoenix and their headquarters is over in Chicago 😁

By the way, a buddy of mine with an economics degree put the Resume together, then I just tweaked it a bit myself 😁

I haven't messed with Microsoft Office much up until now, but looking at all this, it’s pretty obvious there's a lot of stuff worth knowing

Thanks again, everyone 👍

Hi everyone,

I have a quick question—how can I set up Excel 2010 so that numbers are rounded to two decimals, specifically keeping them within a 00 to 99 range? For instance, if someone enters 100, I'd want it to cap at 99, and if it's a single digit, I'd like a leading zero added, like 01.

graniteheron323 said:how do I get Excel 2010 to round a number to two decimals... and if it's just a single digit, have it show a zero in front like 01

For ROUNDING numbers, just use the ROUND function or something similar. Or you can just hit format Cells and go Number => Decimal places set to 2

If you want that leading zero to show up for double-digit numbers, format the cells as Custom => 00

As for capping anything at 100 or higher—if you're using a formula in a cell, just type =IF(A1>=100,99,""), assuming the number is in A1

graniteheron323 said:Just one quick question—how can I set up Excel 2010 so that numbers round to two decimal places? For instance, if it goes from 0 to 99, but if someone enters 100, I want it to just show 99 instead.

I’m honestly lost here. Could you give me a few specific examples of what you mean?

Kyle Johnson2 said:If you want to handle ROUNDING digits, just use the ROUND function or one of its variations. Alternatively, you can just go through Format Cells and select Number => Decimal places set to 2 decimals.

Just a quick heads-up, these two methods are definitely not the same thing. Sure, both approaches let you round to a specific number of decimal places, but there is a massive catch: when you use the ROUND command to specify your precision (like two decimals in your case), it actually rounds the value and wipes out everything beyond that second decimal point. However, if you just use Format Cells, you're merely changing how the number looks on the screen—the underlying data keeps all those extra decimals hidden in the background. This is absolutely critical if you care about mathematical precision in your calculations. WATCH OUT FOR THAT!!!!!!

How do you actually make text curve in Word? I'm looking to get that rainbow effect where the letters aren't just sitting in a straight line from left to right, but instead follow an arc, sort of like how a rainbow looks in the sky.

Jack Smith5 said:How do you make text curve in Word—like, I want black letters, but instead of just reading left to right, I want them to arch, kind of like how a rainbow looks in the sky?

Maybe try using WordArt, though if you ask me, it’s pretty tacky. 🙂

I need this cell to display a full two-digit number—anything from 00 to 99—without any decimal points trailing behind.

For example, if I type in 1.2, I want it to show up as 01, and if I enter 12.83, it should round up to 13. I also need to find a way to cap the input so nobody can enter anything higher than 99.

If you just want it to look right visually without actually changing the underlying value for calculations, this is probably your easiest bet:

Just right-click, hit Format Cells, go to Number, then Custom, and type in 00.

Kyle Johnson2 said:Still gotta figure out how to stop people from typing anything higher than 99

Just use Data Validation to cap the max value you can dump into a cell.

Can anyone figure out how to recreate this in Word? Or honestly, any other program would work.

The text dimensions should be roughly 9 x 5 inches.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images...fija0001g.jpg/

Jack Smith5 said:Can anyone make this in Word?

Not in Word—no. You’d want to use some kind of vector graphics software. If you actually have the fonts, it’s probably a two-minute job at most. I just can't tell if those blotches in the background are an intentional design choice or just a mistake. 🙂

Honestly, why don't you just find some college kid nearby who'll knock it out for you in exchange for a couple of beers?